Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Extremely cheap, dirt-cheap: Refers to something that has a very low price, often surprisingly or suspiciously so. It can imply that the item is of low value or quality due to its low cost.
   • Cheap, worthless, contemptible: Can describe something (or someone) considered to have little value, worth, or dignity, often in a derogatory sense.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ta mua chiếc đồng hồ này với giá rẻ mạt. (He bought this watch for a dirt-cheap price.)
  • Đừng đối xử với người khác một cách rẻ mạt như vậy. (Don't treat others in such a contemptible/cheap way.)
  • Những món đồ rẻ mạt thường nhanh hỏng. (Dirt-cheap items often break quickly.)

Advanced Usage

• Used to express strong disapproval: The term can intensify criticism about the low perceived value or morality of something or someone.
  • Lời hứa của hắn thật rẻ mạt, chẳng đáng tin. (His promises are utterly worthless, not trustworthy at all.)

Variants and Related Words

• Rẻ (adj): Cheap, inexpensive. The root word without the negative connotation of low value.
  • Giá cả ở chợ này khá rẻ. (Prices at this market are quite cheap.)
• Mạt hạng (adj): Low-grade, bottom-tier. Emphasizes low rank or quality.
  • Đó là một khách sạn mạt hạng. (That is a low-grade hotel.)

Synonyms

• Bèo: Very cheap (colloquial). (Bought it for a song!)
• Vô giá trị: Worthless, valueless.
• Ti tiện: Mean, base, contemptible (often for behavior).

Idioms and Common Phrases

• Coi rẻ / coi thường: To look down on, to despise. While not containing "rẻ mạt," it shares the concept of assigning low value.
  • Anh ta bị mọi người coi thường. (He is despised by everyone.)
• Rẻ như bèo: As cheap as duckweed (a common idiom for extreme cheapness).
  • Rau ở quê tôi rẻ như bèo. (Vegetables in my hometown are dirt-cheap.)

1. Dirt-cheap